about
Hailed as “striking in voice, diction and acting” (The Times) and “divine…a brilliantly warm-bodied voice” (Opera Now), mezzo-soprano Joanna Harries was a recent Young Artist at the National Opera Studio in London. Born in New Zealand and raised in Wales, she now enjoys a varied career in opera, concert and recital.
Recent opera roles include Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel at Longborough Festival Opera, Suzy/Lolette/Rorò in the 1921 Paris version of Puccini’s La Rondine with Opera Rara and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, Medoro in Handel’s Orlando at Buxton International Festival with Liberata Collective, and Alice Bragg in new opera Rosalind about the discovery of DNA with the London Mozart Players & Helix Music.
Other roles include Prince & Stepmother Cinderella Opera North Little Listeners, Lucinda La forza dell’amor paterno The Barber Opera, Contessa Ceprano Rigoletto Opera Holland Park, Deborah Robinson Crusoe West Green House Opera and Tweedle-Dee Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland IF Opera. As a National Opera Studio young artist, Joanna performed scenes as Cherubino, Idamante, Ruggiero, Le Prince Charmant and Cenerentola with the orchestras of English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opera North and Scottish Opera.
On the concert stage she has been soloist for Paul Rissmann’s Through the Looking Glass with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican, Mozart’s Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Cadogan Hall, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Bristol Choral Society at Bristol Beacon and Bach’s Easter Oratorio at the Bach Festival Świdnica in Poland.
A keen recitalist, she is a City Music Foundation artist and recent and upcoming recitals include at Oxford International Song Festival, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, St Martins in the Field in London, the Elgar Concert Hall in Birmingham, Lewes Festival of Song, Pushkin House, and a Royal Opera House lunchtime recital. She was previously a Britten-Pears Young Artist, an Opera Prelude Young Artist and a Handel House Talent artist.
Her discography includes recordings with Opera Rara (La Rondine and La Princesse de Trébizonde) and the London Symphony Orchestra (Wonderland). Her debut song album Letters from Scandinavia with pianist Sholto Kynoch was hailed as “Vivid storytelling…It is meticulously researched and brilliantly executed” (BBC Radio 3) and “an unusual and enchanting thing” (Gramophone). Her second song album Nightingale with pianist Jong Sun Woo will be released in next year.
She is co-founder with Jess Dandy of SongPath, bringing together music, nature and mental health in specially curated outdoor events. Since 2019 they have worked with mental health organisations across the UK and festivals including Brighton Early Music Festival, Beverley Early Music Festival, Durham MUSICON, the London Handel Festival, Oxford International Song Festival, Leeds Lieder and Ulverston International Music Festival.
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Studies
Joanna was a choral scholar at the University of Cambridge before training at the Royal Northern College of Music, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and National Opera Studio.
During her studies Joanna performed with companies including British Youth Opera, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera Holland Park, Grange Park Opera, Longborough Festival Opera and was an Emerging Artist for the Royal Opera House “Opera Dots” performances for children.
Contemporary
Joanna is in demand as a interpreter of contemporary music. She has created new opera roles including Prometheus in Tim Benjamin’s The Fire of Olympus, Tartine in David Blake & Keith Warner’s Scoring a Century for British Youth Opera, Awen (cover) in Pwyll ap Sion’s Gair ar Gnawd for Welsh National Opera, Girl/Psychiatrist in Scott Stroman & Tamsin Collison’s Fever Pitch and Diana in The Weekend based on the play by Michael Palin.
She has also premiered works by composers Lucy Armstrong (Cheese at the Bridgewater Hall), Melissa Douglas (Sonnet 116 at the John Ryland’s Library, Manchester), Michael Betteridge (Dawn Chorus at the Royal Exchange Theatre), and Anna Appleby (winning composition, 2015 Rosamond Prize). She performed as vocal soloist in the UK revival of Steve Reich’s video opera Three Tales (Ensemble BPM) and has collaborated with performance artist Maeve Rendle at Manchester Art Gallery, The Whitworth and the Harris Museum in Preston.
Please do not print, edit or reproduce this biography without permission.
